Probably, the Mop Fly is not a favored Tenkara Fly Pattern but, perhaps, it should be. Take a look at the water action of the Mop Fly in Fast, Slow and Still Water Action, and you will see it has much to recommend it, and it is about as Simple a fly to tie as there can be.
The Mop Fly came out of International Fly Fishing Competition, where it was so successful there was a movement to ban its use. After watching the video, I believe you will see the reason why that movement came about.
These days, Mop Yarn is being sold through the fly tying materials supply chain. Originally, you had to buy a pair of Mop Slippers from a Dollar Store and snip the Mop Nubbins off to tie the fly with. The Mop Slippers were used to mop floors with and came in only a few very bright colors.
I had never heard of the Mop Fly when I developed my Herl Thing fly pattern, which is very similar in design and concept, but uses only 1 strand of Ostrich Herl, thread, and ribbing wire to tie the whole fly with on a 60 degree Bead Head Jig Hook, and has a much more slender and refined appearance, and also catches fish very well but, is a little more complicated to tie, but not much…Karl.
I tied up some mop flies to experiment a long while ago and put differing hackles. They definitely caught fish. They are fun to use since they are so easy to see under the water and the fish will really chase them down. It’s like teasing a cat.
For those of you who have tied with the Mop Fly Chenille, how do you finish off the cut end? What keeps it from coming apart? And how do you get the nicely rounded end? Thanks, Karl.
Another pattern that works really well with a Tenkara rod is the jig streamer. Very simple to tie and I’ve also had a lot of luck with it. I mainly tie them in black and white. I fish them similar to a weighted mop fly. They are fun to cast up and across and then give it motion like it’s swimming in front of the fish.
Another material to check out for Kebari mops is FLF Slush Jelly Fritz. I tied some up in apricot and blue cheese and they worked well. I tied them with and without bead heads and lead wraps. I didn’t really like how they fished with no weight and the fish didn’t really seem to rise to it. It could’ve been when I was messing about with it, but they seemed to go for it deeper.
I buy car wash mitts and bath rugs with the chenille fingers that I cut loose, that’s where the rounded end comes from.
As far as holding in place, I strip a little of the chenille away to expose the thread in the middle. Lash that down very tightly. I then take a LOT of very tight wraps to lock it down tight, winding up onto the chenille a bit.
I’ve had some fingers break off from abuse (see the chartreuse one in my image), but I’ve not had one pull out completely on me.
I found an old picture of one I tied. I strip off some of the end exposing the inner threads. Then put the hook through the mop material and out of it part way through. I then lash it down like crazy going back and forth to secure it tightly towards the eye of the hook. I may also coat it with hard as hull to give it more durability. Often I’m in a hurry though and don’t worry about it. Then tie on the dubbing and whip finish a couple of times.
Thank you to everyone for all the great responses and photos, plus the link. I am a little surprised at how much the Mop Fly has been fished by Tenkara Anglers on this Board…Karl.
I’m not too proud to say I’ve used a mop a couple of times with my tenkara rod.
